Birmingham City so close to objective - Alex McLeish

Feb 26 2010 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

ALEX McLeish has urged his Blues players to nudge themselves over the line with victory against Wigan Athletic at St Andrew’s tomorrow.

McLeish admitted Blues were so near yet so far from securing their Premier League status by topping 40 points.

But he warned Wigan should not be considered pushovers with players like Charles N’Zogbia, a player he coveted during the January transfer window.

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“The expectation levels are that we’ve got a home game against a team we saw ourselves round about in the course of the season, we’ve got a bit of a gap, and we’re supposed to win,’’ said McLeish.

“But that doesn’t make them any less dangerous. They have got good players, capable of winning the game. They brought in N’Zogbia, Rodallega, Moreno. They are all very capable players.

“Scharner has been a good stalwart for them. I know Caldwell from my Scotland days. He has probably felt a bit hard done by, Roberto Martinez, in recent weeks.

“You saw the Defoe goal on Sunday, which was clearly offside, and that was a poor decision.

“So they are dangerous coming here but we are dangerous opponents for anyone at St Andrew’s.

“The players, for me, climbed a big hurdle, a big mental barrier, against Fulham at home (in November).

‘‘That was a real catalyst for us, they got that shut-out, a 1-0 victory, when Fulham came strongly at us in the second half.